Third Trimester Ulatrasound

Baby # 1 showing off her baby doll

While not routine in North America, nor in all Canadian provinces, third trimester ultrasounds are standard in our province. I had my 32-34 week ultrasound this last Thursday. The general idea behind a third trimester ultrasound is to ensure that the baby is growing normally. Measurements of head and abdominal circumference are taken. The bladder, stomach and kidneys are evaluated. The depth of the amniotic fluid around the fetus is also measured. The position of the placenta is determined, especially if it was found to be low-lying in a previous ultrasound. The baby's position, while easy to determine on this ultrasound is not that important, as the baby tends to change position regularly; and is only important after about 37 weeks (position can be evaluated by simply palpating the uterus from the outside). And finally, any anomalies discovered during the 20 week ultrasound are re-evaluated.

With Baby #1, I remember the third trimester ultrasound quite well. Mostly because I had asked my husband to come along. I thought he would enjoy seeing our future baby via ultrasound. While I think he enjoyed the experience, I remember thinking in hindsight that it would have been more interesting for him to have viewed an earlier ultrasound. Mostly because everything is so big at this stage, and I don't think he got much out of viewing close-ups of the brain, kidneys and bladder. At an earlier ultrasound, however, the entire baby could be viewed on the same image.

With Baby # 2, I went solo. Mostly because someone had to watch Baby # 1. While I wasn't as excited as the first time around, I certainly enjoyed viewing the images. She was quite active, regularly kicking against the ultrasound probe. Enough to actually elicit an "oh my goodness" from the ultrasound technician. All the measurements were normal, and it was a relief to discover that she was growing well. She was hiding her face with her tiny hands for the most part, but I did catch a few glimpses of her sweet face:

Sneak peak at Baby # 2's face